What is WRONG with people today?

Question

Okay, so we have freedom of religion. Then why are they banning prayer out loud in school, Christmas decorations in public places, any mention of religion in some places? Why do people get offended that some of us ARE Christians and we DO celebrate Christmas? I'm not offended when I see people with Hannukah decorations, or when people with different religions talk about them. This country was partially built on Christianity.
Can someone who is actually offended by any hints that there is Christian people out there EXPLAIN why you are this way?

By praying out loud in school I meant an individual who say, usually says grace before meals cannot say it outloud in the lunch room, not that it was a group thing.

Answer 1

There are at least 2 major principles in the U.S. Constitution that govern religion: The Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause.

The Establishment Clause forbids the government from promoting religion. Since public schools are government entities, prayer out loud most of the time (if not all the time) would be government promoting religion. Religious Christmas decorations are only banned in public places that are government property.

Beyond that religion can be freely expressed; the only restrictions being that of the market place. This might be why some commercial enterprises might say Happy Holidays rather than Merry Christmas--in order to appear more inclusive.

I am an unbeliever. But personally I could care less if there is a public display of a religious character at Christmas--as long as it is not on government property. I am not offended when I see a nativity scene outside a church or on someone's private property. A farm implement company here puts on a Christmas light show that includes religious themes. This does not offend me in the least.

But I would hope that the same tolerance is afforded public displays of religion that are not Christian. Public displays of Hindu deities for example. Or Wiccan pentagrams.

Personal prayer out loud in the lunch room: The courts have granted school authorities wide powers to regulate the behavior of students. I can see where an individual praying out loud in the lunch room might be construed as the school promoting religion. It would be a little surprising to me if a school forbade a student from quietly bowing his/her head and praying silently over the meal. I see this type of behavior in public all the time, and it does not offend me.

Answer 2

The law is that the government, under the religion clauses of the First Amendment can neither unduly burden the free exercise of religion nor support it. The government must be neutral. So while you can't have school prayer in public schools--schools funded by taxes paid by people of all faiths or no faiths--you also can't prevent the high school Bible study club from having after-school use of school facilities if the school makes the same facilities available to the chess club. When the First Amendment was added to the Constitution several states, including Virginia had established churches. In Virginia, the Episcopal Church was established, which meant that its clergy were paid by the State, which, in turn, meant that if you were a Baptist living in Virginia you needed to pay the pastor of your church his salary and, through your taxes, you also help pay the salary of the local Episcopalian rector. Good deal for Episcopalians--not so good a deal for the Baptists. Of course in 1789, we had virtually no Jews in this country, very few Roman Catholics, no Muslims, no Greek or Russian Orthodox to say nothing of Buddhaist, Hindus, Shinto, Sikhs or several other groups. What we did have is the very recent memory of people like Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson being expelled from, say, Massachusetts because they didn't agree with the Puritan establishment. We also had people whose parents or grandparents had been run out of some European country or the other because of religious persecution by the State. One thinks of the Quakers, the Pennsylvania Dutch, the Baptists, French protestants, just to name a few.

Now, that's the short-hand version of the constitutional law and the history behind it. We also realized as a county that government involvement (or "entanglement," as the Supreme Court worded it in one of its decisions--Lemon v. Kurtzmann), was really bad for religion. In czarist Russia, the Church was a department of the State, and that department was run by a layman, not the Patriarch of Moscow. Would you really want some unelected state or federal bureaucrat deciding who could be a member of your congregation or which congregation you had to join, what the content of your priest or pastor's sermon should be, or what theology could be taught in your seminaries? Religious leaders in this country, for the most part, have understood that you can't have government support of religion without having government control of religion. When you don't separate church from State, the State wins because it has the money, the police and it gets to make the laws. God and Caesar don't mix well--something Jesus realized when he advised those listening to him to render unto Caesar that which was Caesar's and unto God that which was God's. Pretty good advice from a pretty good source.

Grace by unto you and peace.

Answer 3

Schools are a problem because everybody goes for "zero tolerance" policies that are sometimes over-kill. You should be allowed to sit and quietly say grace to yourself. You can't make a show of it, or do it in a group, because then it becomes organized and when any group, but especially Christians, get organized they start stepping on the rights of others. There is often implied or overt intimidation towards those who won't or can't participate.

Other kids have a right to get through the school day without being subjected to your religious practices. Other kids have a right to practice different religions, or no religion, according to their own or their familial beliefs. I'm sure you wouldn't want me teaching your kid about Wicce - well, I don't want you teaching mine about torture, sacrifice or crucifixion.

Jesus said to go into your closet and pray. Christians are not supposed to be putting on a show - "vainglory" is discouraged in the bible. So how about following YOUR OWN RELIGION and keeping it to yourself? Nothing is more irritating than someone who goes around advocating a religion they don't follow themselves.

Answer 4

People are offended because there really isn't a freedom of religion...if you believe differently. Christmas isn't really a christian holiday, it was used to convert the pagans of the old religions. It was very much a pagan holiday...and still is.If there really was a freedom of religion then ALL religions would be allowed to celebrate in thier own ways without christianity forcing their ways down our throats. If equal time, money and space were allotted for all religions equally then there would be NO PROBLEM...but they aren't..its the christians who are wanting to display their stuff and gripe about others displaying and celebrating the winter solisice.

Answer 5

Public schools should not have prayer time. School is school.
The malls are highly decorated for revenues, and not the deep meaning of Christmas. Don't worry about people that don't understand Christianity. The world seems to be a little off these days.

Answer 6

Generalize much?

They ban school sanctioned prayers because to be fair to all faiths, you'd have to be praying for quite a long time. It's why we have seperation of church and state hon. Sure, its easy to be ok with school prayers when you're in the majority. A Christian living in a christian town. How would you feel in certain parts of Michigan and the majority decided that "school prayers" meant Muslim prayers?

Nobody is offended that there are "hints" of Christianity. At least dress your straw man up a little better than that.

Answer 7

Hints of Christianity? HINTS?

Really?

Go ahead, have a lovely Christmas. I don't mind. I really don't. Just don't play the persecuted card. Been to a mall recently? Your holiday is EVERYWHERE. If that is hinting, I hate to see in your face.

Say your prayer before you eat. Knock yourself out. Just don't expect my kid to have to say it with you at the beginning of class. If you really feel strongly about having your religion, (or any religion), in a public school...go to a religious school.

Have a little perspective.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

What is wrong today is the same thing that has always been wrong - sin.
In the book of Revelation, there is no super power that comes to Israel's defense at Armageddon. I believe that the US will either not be a country anymore, or it will be a Muslim country by that time.... I feel sorry for the liberals in this country once that occurs.

Answer 10

I get offended by ALL public displays of ALL religions. If you want to believe all that garbage, that's fine just keep it out of the public light. That's not what I pay taxes for.